Earlier this year, CBBC’s kids’ TV show Blue Peter announced its “Our Planet Now” competition, inviting its viewers to share a short story or a poem that would prompt people across the globe to take action against climate change and fight for the well-being of our planet. The selected poem is that of eight-year-old Delphine, who imagines an important message being sent to today’s generations by future generations. As part of the prize, her idea was transformed into a short animation by Aardman Animations, with a soundtrack performed and recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
The powerful 2D animation was presented to world leaders at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow on November 1st, highlighting that if the world doesn’t act now against climate change, some animals might live only in the imagination of future generations and in the memory of current ones. Directed by Åsa Lucander and Nina Sosanya as narrator, the “Delphine and the Imaginary Menagerie” story carries us to the future, where the world that we know today doesn’t resemble much to the one presented in the video.
The video’s hero is little girl Delphine, born in 2099, whose grandmother presents her with an old book showcasing pictures of animals that the young one had never seen. When asked what these creatures are, granny says that “many years ago, they roamed the earth and seas” but humans intervened, contaminating their environment with plastic and destroying their habitats by bulldozing their homes and burning down their trees.
Intrigued by the story, the girl keeps reading the book. But when she fell asleep, it was her imagination that roamed free, dreaming about tigers, flamingos, and chameleons harmoniously living in a vibrant world. But all of this vanished away when the sun came up and the girl’s “heart felt heavy in the cold, grey light of the day.”
“Winning the Our Planet Now competition is amazing — I still can’t believe it! I love the world I live in, and the animals and plants I share it with. I want other people to love nature as much as I do, to inspire them to look after it. It doesn’t matter how young you are — you can still shout loudly and make a difference,” says Delphine.
“It’s been a huge privilege and joy to bring this imaginative and beautiful poem to life for Blue Peter. From the wonderful words by the talented winner, Delphine, we wanted to create an enchanting and visually engaging film that carries the strong message of the heart-breaking fact: That our beloved animals — animals that we all take for granted, will disappear forever if we don’t all stand up tall and do something about it. Our goal was to transport our audience on a heartfelt journey that delivers the poignant message of the poem as well as serving as an emotional wake-up call to this urgent climate threat,” explains the director.
Delphine’s idea of younger generations from the future speaking to current generations reached straight to the jury’s hearts, who picked the kid’s concept out of more than 5,000 entries. Filmmaker Jack Harries and Children’s Laureate, Cressida Cowell, helped to judge the contest.
Speaking about the girl’s poem, Ellen Evans, Editor at Blue Peter, explains: “We loved how Delphine at just eight years old did not shy away from a powerful message and a direct call to action to our world leaders. Her words are beautiful and commanding and make very clear the future she sees for her generation should the world fail to act now on climate change.”
Aside from having her work featured at the summit, Delphine was given the chance to attend the event and see her imagination playing before global leaders’ eyes. Additionally, the British Library will host the girl’s words forever.
Credits:
Animation: Aardman Animations
Director: Åsa Lucander